WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF
New forms of transport are emerging all the time, and many have bold claims, so we’ll see how this one plays out.
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As various hyperloop companies around the world try to develop and commercialise their inventions, which will ultimately see people travelling in trains in vacuum tubes that exceed the speed of sound, TransPod, a Canadian start up has announced it’s “building the world’s leading ultra-high-speed ground transportation system – the TransPod Line” has just unveiled FluxJet that ithopes will transform the way passengers and cargo are moved.
Based on “ground breaking innovations in propulsion and fossil-fuel-free clean energy systems,” the fully electric vehicle is a hybrid between an aircraft and a train. It features technological leaps in contactless power transmission and a new field of physics called Veillance Flux — enabling it to travel in a protected guideway at over 1000 km/h – faster than a jet and three times as fast as a conventional high speed train.
The Future of Transport, by keynote speaker Matthew Griffin
“This milestone is a major leap forward,” says Ryan Janzen, co-founder and CTO at TransPod. “The FluxJet is at a nexus of scientific research, industrial development, and massive infrastructure to address passengers’ needs and reduce our dependence on fossil fuel heavy jets and highways.”
Preliminary construction work on the FluxJet, including the environmental impact assessment, has already begun, and eventually it will operate exclusively on the TransPod Line, a network system with stations in key locations and major cities and featuring high-frequency departures designed to enable fast, affordable, and safe travel.
Learn more about the FluxJet
Most recently, TransPod announced the next phase of an $18B US infrastructure project to build the network system that will connect Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta, Canada.
According to the startup, this project will create up to 140,000 jobs and add $19.2B to the region’s GDP throughout construction. In addition, once the TransPod Line is in operation, it will cost passengers approximately 44% less than a plane ticket to travel the corridor and help reduce CO2 emissions by 636,000 tonnes per year.
“The FluxJet is a first for Canadian innovation and is the next great infrastructure project to be brought worldwide,” continues Janzen. “The TransPod Line is being developed in collaboration with our partners in Europe, USA, and beyond, including universities, research centers, the aerospace industry, architecture, railway, and construction partners.”
At TransPod’s unveiling event in Toronto, a scaled-down prototype was featured in a live demonstration showing its flight capabilities. The almost 1-tonne vehicle engaged in take-off, travel, and landing procedures within its guideway.
